Traditionally, a high level of inorganic fertilizers have been added to turf, vegetables, ornamentals and row crops to improve their growth or yield potential. Often this has resulted in more stress on plants under environmental stress (drought, physical damage) and greater susceptibility to disease. Moreover, the majority of fertilizer components, particularly nitrogen, is not utilized by the intended plants, and is lost by leaching or conversion to less desirable forms (nitrate and nitrite). Excessive leaching is now recognized as a major contributing factor to algae blooms (with subsequent pollution and loss of fish and other wildlife).
It has been recognized that plants seek to function in a mutually beneficial (symbiotic) relationship with the natural microbial strains present in soil. Indeed, as much as 25% of the total food (carbonaceous material) produced by a plant during seasonal growth is release from the roots, very likely to feed and maintain beneficial soil microbes. In turn, these microorganisms, both bacteria and certain beneficial fungi (i.e. mychorrhizae) provide the plant with specific metabolites and micronutrients that significantly aid overall plant health and development.
Certain of these microbial metabolites have been identified as precursors to natural phytohormones which plants synthesize and use at key times in their growth cycle, or during times of stress and infection. Some of these precursors, referred to as plant growth regulators (PGR), have been applied directly to plants to encourage growth at desired times. However, we have realized that some bacteria produce specific natural phytohormone precursors (e.g. indole-3-ethanol; TOL) and are well-adapted to grow on (colonize) plant roots. These strains subsequently provide the plant with these metabolites in a way far better than relying on exogenous application of the synthetic chemical precursors alone. This is due to the fact that root-colonizing beneficial bacteria respond in a feedback relationship to the overall levels of plant root exudate, growing and producing more phytohormone precursors at just the right times and amounts for the plants to use the material most effectively. From beneficial strains, these precursors are usually non-toxic, readily available (taken up by the roots) and can be stored by the plant for future rapid response at key times of development or stress.
Other microbial strains have been isolated which demonstrate the ability to produce several anti-fungal metabolites. These natural antibiotics specifically deter the development of pathogenic plant fungal organisms. These strains, which also produce TOL, have been included in the formulation described, to provide a further natural (non-chemical) assistance to the plant in resisting common disease-causing fungi. Another microbial organism (Paenibacillus azotofixans) isolated from grass roots for its ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen into plant-usable substrates, was also included in the formulation to augment available nutrients in the immediate root area.
Importantly, it has been determined that the optimal benefits are achieved through a combination of such selected phytohormone (precursor) producing soil bacteria, antibiotic producing strains, and free-living nitrogen-fixing isolates, along with certain nutrients and micronutrients in specific empirically-determined levels. Such a formula provides surprisingly effective conditions to achieve optimal plant vigor and stress tolerance for a relatively broad array of agronomically important plants and crops. In the past, other products have been developed and sold which included some of these elements separately, such as PGR-containing solutions (e.g. Regal.RTM.), beneficial microbial strains alone (e.g. Dagger-G.RTM.); standard inorganic fertilizers (e.g. Miracle Gro.RTM., Turf Builder.RTM.). We have found by direct comparison on a variety of plant types that the unique combination of the selected bacterial strains, phytohormone-precursors, and nutrients is far more effective in improving plant vigor and final yield potential.